Wells, you knows I get the pictures from that new fangled interweb net computer thing and you know that computers can't lie now right?

Oh this picture? Well those are dogs and as you know, dogs can do anything :-)

Some of the pictures the individual is able to go further than what is considered "normal range of motion" but a lot of them actually the person is within normal range, it just looks impossible. There was one picture that I was questioned on this board and I was surprised since it wasn't extreme in terms of flexibility although a lot of balance and strength and concentration is needed (same pose, not the same picture):

Yoga can help you increase your range of motion and strength but it is really about concentration and breathing. Everything else is a perk. There are "modifications" for all poses, whether to make it more doable for those with less flexiblity (like me) and more challenging for those with more. It's just fun to look at the more deeper poses, kind of like playing basketball on the court and then watching a pro game.

But since we're talking about flexibility:

You can also take a protractor to the images and see if it makes sense or if someone has more than normal range of motion.

Now if you want to send someone into space, these values and others become quite important:msis.jsc.nasa.gov

There are people on this board with a lot more experience and practice and knowledge than me - if I'm wrong about anything, let me know :-) except that dog picture, since we all know that dogs are always right except when they're left. Now you know what I do when I can't sleep :-)

Apple's iPhone loses China market shareHONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - Apple Inc's share of China's booming smartphone market slipped for a second straight quarter in October-December, as it lost ground to cheaper local brands and as some shoppers held off until after the iPhone 4S launch last month.

China, the world's largest mobile phone market, has not been easy forApple, which is grappling with a lawsuit from a local firm over the iPad name and issues at its suppliers' factories over wages and working conditions.

With the number of mobile subscribers set to top 1 billion in China this year, there is cut-throat competition among South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Nokia, Apple and local firms Huawei Technologies Co Ltdand ZTE Corp.

While Apple regained its top spot as the world's largest smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter and for last year as a whole, it slipped to 5th place in China, overtaken by ZTE. Apple's China smartphone market share slid to 7.5 percent from 10.4 percent in July-September.

In the last quarter, Samsung knocked Nokia off the top slot, taking 24.3 percent of the market, more than three times Apple's share, data from research firm Gartner showed. Nokia's market share more than halved last year, from above 40 percent in the first quarter to below one fifth by the fourth quarter.

"Chinese handset makers have been actively promoting their smartphones with China's three telecoms operators, so we saw ZTE and Huawei gain significant market share," said Taipei-based Gartner analyst CK Lu.

Gartner said this week it expected Apple's iPhone market share to slip for a couple of quarters as the novelty of its latest 4S model wears off.

In the first quarter of last year, ZTE had a market share of just 3 percent, but ended 2011 ranked 4th with more than 11 percent market share.

Chinese firms are gradually shifting up towards the higher end of the market, unveiling more feature-packed smartphones.

"If you want to sell handsets to the mass market, a simple rule of thumb in China is that the handset price has to be close to 70 percent of the monthly salary," said Jayesh Easwaramony, an analyst with Frost & Sullivan in Singapore.

"Today, an iPhone is more than two months salary."

This, said Easwaramony, gives the likes of Huawei and ZTE the opportunity to cater to a mass market that is captivated by the iPhone, but doesn't have the purchasing power for it.

VALUE FOR MONEY

"The quality of Huawei's phones is quite high and it's good value for money compared to the iPhone," said Dale Dai, a 28-year-old sales executive from Beijing.

Dai, who uses his Huawei phone to write weibo, or Chinese microblogs, surf the Internet and make calls, recently bought a new Honor smartphone for 1,800 yuan ($290), almost a third of the price of a new iPhone 4S at 4,988 yuan.

But given the sheer size of the Chinese market, just targeting the highest end users should be enough for Apple, though it's not always been a smooth ride.

Last month, shoppers in Beijing threw eggs at the Apple store and fought with police when they were told the iPhone 4S would not be on sale as scheduled.

In Shenzhen, some genuine iPhones and iPads are smuggled in from Hong Kong, while sellers also take advantage of Apple's popularity by packaging fake iPhones in iPhone 5 boxes - even before the 4S was launched.

In Hong Kong, Apple resorted to an online lottery reservation system for the 4S model after crowd control issues disrupted initial sales.

Analysts expect Apple to stem its slide in market share in China by signing up another carrier.

China Unicom, the country's No.2 telecoms operator, is currently the only carrier to officially carry the iPhone. It has not officially given its iPhone sales, but analysts estimate it has sold around 3 million iPhones since signing a contract with Apple in 2009.

China Telecom Corp Ltd, the third and smallest operator, is expected to be next to clinch a similar deal with Apple later this year, and analysts predict it would sell about 1.4 million iPhones this year if it can reach a deal with Apple by May, rising to 2-4 million new iPhone users in 2013.

When Apple was using the "old" method, the market was lusting for it to use the "new" method. Now that it is, the earnings are inflated it seems. Whatever. All I can say is, new or old, Apple has $100 billion in the bank and adding to that pile every day. That's something you can't fake, not if you have to write checks to your suppliers.

I suppose if one is looking to find something wrong with Apple's earnings and can't, this non-issue will have to do ;-)

iPhone users browsing tracked by Google,others:WSJ8:14 am ET 02/17/2012 - MarketWatch Pulse News BulletNEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Google Inc. and other advertising firms have been tracking users of Apple Inc.'s iPhone web surfing despite software settings designed to prevent corporate snooping, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The paper said the firms have used special software that tricks the browser security settings and gives them access to surfing history on the phone. The paper said the issue was discovered by Stanford University researcher Jonathan Meyer and confirmed by the paper. The paper said that Google disabled the code after being contacted as part of the report. The report said that Vibrant Media, WPP PLC's Media Innovation Group LLC and Gannett Co's [s; gci] PointRoll Inc were also found to be using the software.

Checks showed only a small post-holiday slowdown in iPhone 4S demand. iPad demand has fallen more post-holiday, although they believe this in part reflects the expectation of a new iPad3 announcement. The firm sees a lower price point for the iPad2 with the iPad3 announcement.

March quarter 2012 iPhone shipment estimates were raised to 31M from 29M and iPad estimates to 11M from 10M. The firm raised FY12 EPS estimates from $45.14 to $45.78.

Reports point to a March-7th iPad3 introduction with shipments soon after, the firm notes. Likely upgrades include a retina display, faster processor, and potentially 4G-LTE. The WSJ also reports Apple's testing an 8"-screen iPad, although the firm is not sure of the timing for a smaller iPad.

On the dividend, the firm notes with $100B in cash on the books, management admits to having more than needed for operations, although also calls for patience. "We continue to believe a dividend is an eventual reality (yield could easily be ~1%-2%) although timing is unclear," the analyst said.

There is still more upside in the shares, the firm said. "We continue to see multiple growth catalysts with significant room to expand iPhone and iPad penetration and enter new markets such as smart TVs (potentially in late 2012)."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Apple click here. For more ratings news on Apple click here.

Shares of Apple closed at $502.21 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $310.50-$526.29.